Hawks shoot down Warriors in battle of league's best
The Atlanta Hawks' starting five rightfully gets a lot of attention. They're a well-balanced embodiment of team basketball. The NBA even broke with tradition this week by honoring them as a unit for its Eastern Conference Player of the Month award.
Against the best in the West on Friday, however, the best team in the East's reserves had a chance to shine on a big stage.
Forward Mike Scott and guards Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore supplied a combined 37 points off the bench in a 124-116 win over the Golden State Warriors.
The trio went a perfect 7-for-7 from beyond the arc, helping the Hawks as a whole shoot 55.6 percent from deep on the night - including 80 percent in the second half.
If Friday was an NBA Finals preview, it lived up to the hype. These teams can shoot the lights out.
While the 124 points were the second-most the Warriors have given up this season, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry scored 29 and 26 points respectively, while Draymond Green potted 12 and pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds.
It wasn't enough, though, as the balanced Hawks had all five starters go for double digits, led by Jeff Teague's 23 points and seven assists.
Kyle Korver's 17 points included five threes, including this one:
Atlanta is now 42-9 on the season, and 14-3 against the Western Conference.